December 15, 2009
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Last week in Copenhagen I attended a side event in the Climate Change Conference (COP15). The topic was the importance of growing the service industries. There were two presentations from the hotel business and two presentations from the ICT business.
One hotel presented their efforts to be carbon neutral, which is a huge success in itself. They also were very good in keeping their employees engaged throughout the whole process. I do think that this is the key to their success. The frontline employees are really their ambassadors for the services that they deliver. Much of what they did was internally focused. There is still a big opportunity in translating this greening of the business into great customer experiences. They had plans to buy electric cars. But what about picking up your customers from the airport with these electric cars? Or giving them these electric cars in the city?
They also explained the Green Key program.
Although this is a fine program in itself, but what does it mean for the customer, what needs are addressed and what are my benefits as a customer? Again here is still much room for improvement. They really need to think about adding new services, which are attractive to the customers.
A representative from the ICT industry mentioned the potential savings from greening your business.
Examples:
-
Introducing building management systems
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Less transportation through e.g. videoconferencing
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Checking the energy footprint at the workplace
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Datacenters which use wind/water/ground power
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Building an internet of energy, a grid
The main issue he addressed is how to change people’s behavior. What is needed to make people travel less? What is needed to lower the temperature in buildings? They think that only money savings are the driver of changing behaviors. It is my understanding however that people are open to change when they underline the need for change, when you involve them in creating smart solutions and when you have a very meaningful goal. If these conditions are met, they will be pulling the change instead of pushing via management.
There was also a company, which builds energy efficient products for home automation. Through their low cost metering solution 30% savings can be accomplished. This is fine, but what is still missing are the services to implement them with customers. It requires a change in behaviors with customers, so what a great opportunity this is to add services to your portfolio to help your customers with this transition?
So, it comes as no surprise that most of these ‘greening your business’ efforts are seen as a marketing tool rather than as a serious commitment towards sustainable development. There is a huge opportunity if companies design services, which meet customers needs as well. The 100.000 people who demonstrated in Copenhagen prove that they are also very serious about the need of getting green!
GROW
YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!
www.theproperway.com
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December 1, 2009
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I just finished reading the book Trust Agents from Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. Obviously it is a must read for everyone in the business world.
When I reflected on the content I had some kind of epiphany. Most corporations and organizations do think that when the crisis is over that they will return to the previous state of ‘business- as-usual’. We just have to focus on some more cost cutting and then we will be good for the next phase. Not much will change.
By doing that they make a big mistake! The world is changing structurally and it will not return to the old habits and patterns again. For a long time the large corporations determined what we –the customer- should buy or do. “They knew what was good for us’. They invented push marketing strategies for that.
Although the saying is that the customer is king, it never really was. The customer was king as long as it suited their way of doing business.
That has changed significantly with the possibilities of the Web and social media.. Through the use of these tools any individual voice can (and will) be heard in many place. The ripple effect of tools like Twitter and Facebook is huge. So, the customer gains influence, see for example the guitar case with American Airlines. In this way the customer becomes a force to be reckoned with. A force, which can match the powers and behaviors of large corporations and institutions.
The Web enables communication not only to be on an even level (buyers and sellers are equal), but also on a more personal level. Brogan/Smith call it the importance of being human. “….. people are sick of brochures and sales letters. They want the real thing”. Customers are demanding that shift, right now and if you are not listening to their calls, you will miss the boat. Old times will not revive. The way you interact and listen to the customer is crucial for your business success. Customer service is king!
The Web and social media give businesses the opportunity to reveal the human side of their orgnization. That is the main challenge: be human again! Develop professional as well as personal (ProPer) strategies!
I fully support Brogan/Smith when they say that trust and the humanizing of business is where the action is.
So, what are you going to do differently??
GROW YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!
www.theproperway.com
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November 25, 2009
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Many executives have the command and control management style. That is the dominant style which they have learned (and copied) from their bosses and that is the style with which they grew up in the organization. Although many would say that they are not applying that style, the day-to-day practice proves otherwise. That is quite natural. In times of a crisis we fall back to the behavior with which we are most comfortable.
However, both command and control are totally not working anymore in the modern workplace.
Most workers are knowledge workers, so it is an illusion that a leader or manager can tell them what to do and in what way. With the rapidly changing markets and the huge amount of information available, it is even hard for the experts to stay up to date on a certain subject. So, it would be wise to develop a more coaching oriented leadership style, which is much more suited for the knowledge workers in your organization.
Alan Webber in his book Rules of Thumb says
about control that it is undoubtedly the biggest illusion of our time. “Anyone who thinks that they are in control of anything needs to check into the twelve-step program of his or her choice.
A command and control style is the biggest obstacle for innovation. People will take no initiatives, they will only strictly adhere to what they are told and not think out of the box. The aspects on which the control takes place will be the boundaries for their new ideas. In other words there will be no room or incentive to come up with groundbreaking or game-changing ideas.
Today’s challenging marketplace requires fresh and bold thinking, so please make sure that your management style is in support of innovation!
GROW
YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!
www.theproperway.com
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November 18, 2009
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One of the main constraints that managers and executives face is time and related to that priority. The day-to-day business and its challenges, small fires and other problems are consuming all their energy and time. They are always so busy and their agenda’s are fully booked. There is hardly any time left to get lunch or even to go to the bathroom.
These time constraints prevent you also from having new ideas and new perspectives. They do not take time to detach, to reflect or to use others as sounding boards. Because of this behavior they are trapped in the trap of doing business in a way that it has been done for a long time.
But.. Today’s changing environment requires
a different approach and different perspectives. Otherwise you will not be the frontrunner, not even the survivor in your business.
So, what is needed is to plan a fixed time of minimal one hour in your agenda, every week! This is your holy hour, this cannot be changed, not be touched. Please feel free to use this hour only for:
-
Getting inspired
-
Getting new ideas
-
Getting new perspectives
-
Meeting new people
-
Talking with customers and competitors
-
Brainstorming with frontline employees
-
Reading a book
-
Looking at inspirational video’s
-
Inviting an interesting speaker with a
complete different background and experience
-
Connect with nature
-
Do some sports
-
Have a walk in the park or in the city
This holy hour will give you so much more energy and fresh perspectives that you will easily finish your other work in much less time that you would need usually. Your enthusiasm will also inspire others to do the same. And that will create a vibrant, creative community. And that is what is needed to be a winner in this game of business.
GROW YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!
www.theproperway.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ArnoldBeekes
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November 18, 2009
05:31 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment
One of the main constraints that managers and executives face is time and related to that priority. The day-to-day business and its challenges, small fires and other problems are consuming all their energy and time. They are always so busy and their agenda’s are fully booked. There is hardly any time left to get lunch or even to go to the bathroom.
These time constraints prevent you also from having new ideas and new perspectives. They do not take time to detach, to reflect or to use others as sounding boards. Because of this behavior they are trapped in the trap of doing business in a way that it has been done for a long time.
But.. Today’s changing environment requires
a different approach and different perspectives. Otherwise you will not be the frontrunner, not even the survivor in your business.
So, what is needed is to plan a fixed time of minimal one hour in your agenda, every week! This is your holy hour, this cannot be changed, not be touched. Please feel free to use this hour only for:
-
Getting inspired
-
Getting new ideas
-
Getting new perspectives
-
Meeting new people
-
Talking with customers and competitors
-
Brainstorming with frontline employees
-
Reading a book
-
Looking at inspirational video’s
-
Inviting an interesting speaker with a
complete different background and experience
-
Connect with nature
-
Do some sports
-
Have a walk in the park or in the city
This holy hour will give you so much more energy and fresh perspectives that you will easily finish your other work in much less time that you would need usually. Your enthusiasm will also inspire others to do the same. And that will create a vibrant, creative community. And that is what is needed to be a winner in this game of business.
GROW YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!
www.theproperway.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ArnoldBeekes
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November 12, 2009
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Most organizations do have a fix set of partners. They cover many area’s:
-
Accountants
-
Consultants
-
Project managers
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Security
-
Catering
-
IT
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Telecoms
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Recruiters
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Coaches
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Advertising
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Etc
The challenge for new potential partners is to be put on the preferred supplier-list. In many cases is Purchasing the owner of the list.
This list tends to be rather static, i.e. it is hard to get on the list, but easy to stay on it. Given the urgent need for change and innovation, there is a problem with this practice. The longer these partners are on the list, the less they will have a fresh look. They become one with the existing culture and way of doing things. There is hardly any difference between the perspectives of partners and regular employees. Also these partners become less and less critical, as they are afraid to be excluded from the list.
These longstanding partners are not very supportive in your need for freshness and bold perspectives.
So, if you really want to change and innovate, than you must hire new partners and be open to ‘another way’ of doing things!
Are you willing to refresh your business partners?
GROW YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!
www.theproperway.com
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November 3, 2009
03:16 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment
It is an open door to talk about all the change that is necessary and all the change programs that are work in process.
However, there is also plenty of evidence (McKinsey, IBM) that the majority of the changes do not deliver the required results. There are two main reasons for this issue.
- most leaders think that their people (managers and employees)
should change, but not themselves. And the (middle) managers and frontline
workers think that they are okay, but that the leaders should change.
- Most change programs cover only the professional/business
aspects of change. They forget the crucial aspect of personal/behavioral
change.
The solution is quite straight forward: change is non-discriminatory, everyone should be open to change and personal change is equally important as professional change.
Please find here an overview of the ProPer Change Cycle.
Organizations
- Change only happens when the cost of the status quo is larger than the risk of change
The 8-Step Process of Successful Change (John Kotter)
SET
THE STAGE
1. Create a Sense of Urgency.
Help others see the need for change and the importance of acting immediately.
2. Pull Together the Guiding
Team.
Make sure there is a powerful group guiding
the change—one with leadership skills, bias for action, credibility, communications ability, authority, analytical skills.
DECIDE
WHAT TO DO
3. Develop the Change Vision and Strategy.
Clarify how the future will be different
from the past, and how you can make that future a reality.
MAKE
IT HAPPEN
4. Communicate for Understanding and Buy-in.
Make sure as many others as possible understand and accept the vision and the strategy.
5. Empower Others to Act.
Remove as many barriers as possible so that those who want to make the vision a reality can do so.
6. Produce Short-Term Wins.
Create some visible, unambiguous successes as soon as possible.
7. Don’t Let Up.
Press harder and faster after the first successes. Be relentless with instituting change after change until the vision becomes a reality.
MAKE
IT STICK
8. Create a New Culture.
Hold on to the new ways of behaving, and make sure they succeed, until they become a part of the very culture of the group.
Individuals
Change
is personal or it never happens.
Rule 1: It is a prerequisite that everyone (leaders, managers, employees) changes in order to grow.
Rule 2: People don’t change when we tell them they should. They change when they tell themselves they must.
Key questions for individual change:
PLAN
*Knowledge
- Why is change necessary?
- What to change?
- What is the new goal (organization, department, personal)?
- What do I have to do differently?
- What is my new metric?
- Where can I contribute (share ideas, give feedback, be
engaged)?
*Desire
- Want to change
- Will to change
- What excites me?
- What is in it for me (benefits, rewards, recognition)?
-
*Skills
- How to change
- Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my ‘new’
work right?
- Where is support available for me to cope with ongoing change?
DO
*Change your thinking
*Change your behaviour
CHECK
- Are you producing the required results, professionally and
personally?
ACT
- Adapt yourself continuously
- Stay focused
- Reward success
This holistic approach to change will create an environment, a culture, which sees change as a normal, accepted way of working, rather than an exception which needs to be resisted.
So, are you ready to change yourself??
GROW YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!
www.theproperway.com
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October 27, 2009
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In the book ‘Old Masters and Young Geniuses’ by David Galenson there are two types of innovators researched. His analysis of the life cycles of creativity has considered painters, sculptors, poets, novelists and movie directors.
It appears that creativity is not the exclusive domain of either theorists or empirists, nor are major innovations made exclusively by the young or old.
Conceptual innovators work deductively. They are most often the young geniuses, who revolutionize their disciplines early in their careers. Conceptual innovators state their ideas or emotions, often summarily and without hesitation.
The central elements of conceptual innovators’ major contributions often arrive in brief moments of inspiration, and they can often be recorded and communicated quickly. A fundamental characteristic of conceptual innovators is certainty; most have great confidence in the validity and significance of their contributions, and this allows them to put forward dramatic new works early in their careers in spite of their knowledge that most practioners of their disciplines will be hostile to their new ideas.
Experimental innovators work inductively. They are the old masters, whose greatests achievements usually arrive late in their lives. Experimental innovators think of their careers as an extended process of searching for the elusive means of understanding and expressing their perceptions.
Their major contributions typically involve superb craftsmanship, the result of painstaking effort and experience acquired over the course of long careers. Even their major works are not generally intended as definitive statements, but are provisional, subject to later modification or further development, reflecting their author’s lack of certainty in their accomplishment. Uncertainty is perhaps the most common characteristic of great experimental innovators.
A basic result that has emerged from this research is the recognition that both conceptual and experimental innovations have played an enormous role in the modern history of each of the artistic activities that have been studied.
It implies that aptitude and ambition are more important factors in allowing people to make contributions to a chosen discipline than the ability to think and work in a particular way, either deductively or inductively.
So, what kind of innovator are you?!
GROW YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!
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October 20, 2009
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It looks like the gap, the divide is getting bigger instead of getting smaller.
Which gap? Well, between on one hand the Corporate leaders and managers who are not open to change, who continue to do business as they have done for many years now and on the other hand mostly the consultants, bloggers and entrepreneurs who know that the 21st century requires a new way of doing business.
So, what is needed are bridge builders. People who can bridge the gap and thus connect the merits of both approaches.
What is needed to be a great bridge builder?
- Focus on the strengths of both ways of doing business
- Communicate in a simple and clear way
- Explain the respective benefits
- Listen open minded
- Speak both ‘languages’
- Look for the commonalities instead of for the differences
- Help to build new cultures and behaviors
- Be the examples
Bridge builders are not a nice to have, they are urgently needed to close the gap in the Corporate world.
Are you volunteering to be a bridge builder?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GROW YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!
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October 13, 2009
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Most recruiting companies list in their job requirements exactly what experience the candidate should bring. They prefer to hire someone who has done exactly the same job in another company, but in the same industry.
They think that they play it safe in this way. When there is a fit, they think that there is hardly any risk, as the person has done that particular job before.
However, this practice stimulates conformity and averageness. Once the new hire understands the way of working in his or her new company, they will quickly become complacent, risk avoiding and bored. There is no trigger to learn and develop new skills and knowledge. Also that person will not initiate complete new points of view.
So, there is no professional as well as personal growth, both for the individual and for the company.
This very competitive market requires another attitude. You need to differentiate your company to get and maintain customers. There is already too much averageness in the world, so you need to distinguish yourself! And what is the best and only way to do this? To have great people who awe your customers. These people have to grow continuously and like it as well.
This means that you have to hire people who have the skills, qualities and motivation to grow into the job. Preferably theyshould have a different background. It is more important that they are eager to learn, willing to take risks and are excited about the opportunity.
Growth has to be the essence of your company. Growing your people is the only way to do this. So, hire people who love to grow and learn. Go for awesomeness!
GROW YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!
www.theproperway.com
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